A. Field of the Invention
The present invention is related to systems for tracking and controlling items inside a predetermined area and more particularly to an item tracking system for controlling the lending and returning of items assigned to predetermined storing locations inside a working area by the workers.
B. Description of the Related Art
In certain working places such as aeronautics workshops, it is critical to keep an extremely clean and safe environment, since any object, even small ones, can get lost and end inside an engine or turbine for example, which can be disastrous during testing or operation of the engine, damaging the engine and/or causing a serious problem in the aircraft during flight.
The above referred problem gets worse in a workshop where many tools and instruments are used by many people for maintenance operations and where said tools can eventually get lost and become a FOD (Foreign Object Damage or Foreign Object Debris).
Some times, when a tool gets lost, it is necessary to stop all the operations in the workshop until the tool is found, if it is even found, causing serious problems, costs and delays in the workshop and serious problems to the aircraft operator which lost precious time and money, not mentioning the risk of delivering an aircraft with a potential fatal problem.
In addition, it might happen that one worker could take by accident someone else's tool, alike to the one he has, and then leave that tool somewhere else; causing the people who are looking for the lost tool to waste a lot of time in the wrong place, which involves a great risk since the lost tool may cause a fatal accident if it is not found.
U.S. patent application No. 20070023193 discloses an inventory control system for monitoring the removal and replacement of tools including a container having a plurality of tool storage locations in the form of recesses. Each recess is individually-shaped to receive a specific tool, the shape of the recess being matched to the shape of the tool. A plurality of sensors are provided for sensing the presence of tools in the recesses, each sensor being located adjacent a recesses. A data processor receives signals from the sensing means and monitors the removal and replacement of tools, and an output device indicates the presence and/or absence of tools in the container. The sensors disclosed in the application may be magnetic sensors, optical sensors or magnetic switches which only detects when a tool has been replaced or removed from the storage locations, and since the system has not means to obtain information about the tool taken it can not check which tool has been taken or that the correct tool has been placed in each recess. In fact, since in the embodiment described in the patent application, the detectors are simple magnetic detectors, it would be easy to mislead the detection system, for example by placing a steel bolt in one of the recesses instead of the correct tool. Therefore, the main aim of the system is only to ensure that trusted personnel do not accidentally forget to return tools to the container after use.
U.S. Pat. No. 7,209,041 discloses mobile method and system for automatically monitoring the location and use of tools using radio-frequency identification (“RFID”) tags. An RFID tag is secured to each tool with a unique numerical identifier. The RFID tag transmits its unique numerical identifier associated with each of the RFID tags using a RF signal, wherein the RF signal is transmitted at different intervals for each of the RFID tags. A receiver on a mobile platform reads the RF signals and determines the unique numerical identifier being transmitted. An information processor interconnected with the receiver analyzes the unique numerical identifier from a predetermined index, and the information processor determines whether any tools were not found on the index and automatically alerts a user when a tool is missing. The system makes use of self powered RFID active transmitters associated with each tool, and therefore, if the power source for one of the RFID active transmitter fails, the system will fail to control the respective tool. Furthermore, since the patent dose not disclose that the system includes means for identifying the users, it is not possible to relate a tool taking operation with the correspondent user, and therefore the taken and returning operations can not be fully controlled.
In view of the above referred problems, applicant developed a An item tracking system which makes use RFID technology for automatically monitoring the taking and returning operations of items from one or more storage locations inside a working area which allows to have an “on line” status of each tool as well as the using history of each tool, furthermore, the system “knows” which item has been taken or stored from which storage area by which worker and when, and synchronize and compile the information of all storage locations in one database and system for administering, reporting and sending alarms in order to have total tool control, accountability, tools service control (maintenance, calibration, repairs, and/or replacement), and administration of usage for the tools controlled by the system.
Applicant's system comprises: a plurality of user identification means using technologies such as and not limited to RFID and Bar Code; or fingerprint, each assigned to a respective user, each having personalized identification information recorded such as user name and/or user ID; a plurality of administrator, users and personnel of maintenance identification cards, each assigned to a respective user with respective privileges, each having personalized identification information recorded such as name and/or ID; a plurality of toolboxes, each having: a computer (processor, memory, user interfaces devices such as keyboard—optional—, touch screen—optional—, mouse—optional—, display—optional—, buzzers—optional—, speakers—optional—, communication interface such as cable network, wireless and/or portable memory), including a database, wherein the database of each toolbox's computer contains at least the following information: tools assigned to the respective toolbox and its position inside the toolbox; tools taken from the respective toolbox; tools returned to the respective toolbox and tool's status for presence or absence, services required, historic usages of the tools; automatic locking and unlocking means for each drawer controlled by the data processing and control system; a plurality of readable/writable RFID chips, each permanently joined to a respective tool; a plurality of RFID chip interrogators/scanners/sensors (called sensors) with capability to read and or save information into the RFID chip of each tool, each assigned to a respective storage location of a respective toolbox for specifically interrogating/scanning a respective RFID chip of one tool (this means a relation of one sensor per tool), each interrogator/scanner connected to the computer (directly or thought electronic circuits); wherein the computer of each toolbox is capable of controlling and registering the following functions: tool taking operations; tool returning operations; control of tools taken for several days (TDY: Temporary Duty); control of tools needing service; control of unserviceable tools; control of cases or containers containing inside or over multiple items usually small tools (this functionality of controlling containers with tools inside is called in this document “Critical Items”); and wherein the computer of each toolbox is capable of synchronizing information with the server system.
With applicant's system it is possible to have a tight control over each tool and an immediate control over taking and returning operations. Furthermore, applicant's system allows having a Real Time (RT) status of each tool, the using history of each tool, control of the tools needing service, record of the usage of each tool among other functionalities.
Since the system links each operation with a respective worker and record on every RFID chip place on every tool the worker id, date and time of taking the tool, it is almost impossible to lose any tool and returning a different tool, since the system would detect that said tool is related to other employee. A skilled in the art may suggest that the RFID tag may be easily retired from the tool and attached to other tool, but applicant's system requires that each RFID tag be attached to the tool by means of special substances already available in the market which practically “integrates” the RFID tag to the tool in such way that if someone tries to detach it from the tool, the possibilities that the RFID tag is damaged are very high, thus avoiding fraudulent practices.